Method for producing noodle strands with wavy cross-section

ABSTRACT

Provided is a method for producing noodle strands with which it is possible to reduce or prevent adhesion of wide noodle strands to each other. The method for producing noodle strands with a wavy cross-section comprises the preparation of a noodle strip and the cutting of the noodle strip into noodle strands using a cutting blade device. The cutting blade device has a pair of cutting blade rolls. The cutting blade rolls each have multiple circular grooves and multiple blades disposed alternately along the longitudinal direction of the cutting blade rolls, and are disposed so that the circular grooves of one cutting blade roll engage with the blades of the other cutting blade roll. The circular grooves of the cutting blade rolls each have two first groove sections near blades that are adjacent along the longitudinal direction of the cutting blade rolls and a second groove section between the two first groove sections that is deeper than the two first groove section. When the shortest distance between a first groove section of one cutting blade roll and the blade of the other cutting blade roll that faces said first groove section is D 1 , the thickness of the noodle strip is 2.0-2.7 times D 1 .

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a method for producing noodle strandshaving a wavy cross-section.

BACKGROUND

Methods for producing instant noodles generally include a step in whichcut noodle strands are steamed prior to drying a noodle block, and astep in which the block-shaped mass of noodle strands (noodle block)contained in a retainer is dried. When the noodle strands adhere to eachother during the steaming, containing, or drying steps, workability isimpaired. Adhesion between noodle strands may have a significant adverseeffect on the quality of the product, such as insufficientgelatinization of the noodle strands during steaming and poor unravelingof the noodle strands when eaten. The width of the noodle strands ininstant noodles is generally about 1.0 to 2.5 mm in the case of ramenand about 2.0 to 4.3 mm in the case of udon. Adhesion between noodlestrands becomes more pronounced as the width of the noodle strandsincreases.

Patent Literature 1 (JP 2016-049072 A) describes wide noodles which havea wide surface but do not easily adhere to each other when boiled, and anoodle making apparatus and cutting rollers with which such wide noodlestrands can be produced (Description, paragraph 0010).

Patent Literature 2 (JP H10-155442 A) describes wide noodles in whichthere is no adhesion between noodle strands when the noodle strands arereconstituted in cooking water, which can be uniformly reconstituted,which are smooth and uniformly elastic, and which have surface recessesand projections, as well as a method for the production thereof(Description, paragraph 0006).

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

[PTL 1] JP 2016-049072 A

[PTL 2] JP H10-155442 A

SUMMARY Technical Problem

As raw noodles or dried noodles (noodles that have been dried at lowtemperature for a long period of time without steaming raw noodles),noodles which are wider than udon, etc., such as fettuccine (noodlestrand width is approximately 5.0 to 7.5 mm), are known. In methods forproducing dried noodles, in general, the noodle strands cut or extrudedinto a linear shape are dried as-is, and thus, adhesion between noodlestrands is not a significant problem. However, in order to produce suchwide noodles as instant noodles, it is necessary to further reduce theadhesion between noodle strands.

The present disclosure provides a method for producing noodle strandswhich have a texture similar to that of conventional wide noodle strandsand with which adhesion between the wide noodle strands can be reducedor prevented.

Solution to Problem

The present inventors have discovered that by using a cutting apparatuscomprising a pair of cutting rollers having specifically-shaped annualgrooves and blades and setting the relationship between the distancebetween the annular grooves and the blades facing the same and thethickness of a noodle belt to a predetermined range, noodle strandshaving a wavy cross-section can be cut, and the noodle strands havingsuch a wavy cross-section can effectively reduce or prevent adhesionbetween noodle strands, and have completed the present invention.

The present invention encompasses the following embodiments [1] to [11].

[1]

A method for producing noodle strands having a wavy cross-section, themethod comprising:

preparing a noodle belt, and

cutting the noodle belt into noodle strands with a cutting apparatus,wherein

the cutting apparatus has a pair of cutting rollers, and each of thecutting rollers has a plurality of annular grooves and a plurality ofblades which are alternatingly arranged along the longitudinal directionof the cutting rollers,

the cutting rollers are arranged so that the annular grooves of one ofthe cutting rollers engage with the blades of the other cutting roller,

each of the annular grooves of the cutting rollers has two first grooveslocated near the blades adjacent thereto along the longitudinaldirection of the cutting roller, and a second groove which is deeperthan the two first grooves between the two first grooves, and

when the shortest distance between the first grooves of one of thecutting rollers and the blades of the other cutting roller, which facethe first grooves, is defined as D₁, the thickness of the noodle belt is2.0 to 2.7 times D₁.

[2]

The method according to [1], wherein the thickness of the noodle belt is2.0 to 2.5 times D₁.

[3]

The method according to [1] or [2], wherein the thickness of the noodlebelt is 0.6 mm to 4.0 mm.

[4]

The method according to any one of [1] to [3], wherein the width of theannular grooves is 2.0 mm to 30 mm.

[5]

The method according to any one of [1] to [4], wherein the width of thefirst grooves is 0.5 mm to 11.3 mm.

[6]

The method according to any one of [1] to [5], wherein the width of thesecond grooves is 0.5 mm to 15 mm.

[7]

The method according to any one of [1] to [6], wherein the ratio of thewidth of the first grooves to the width of the second grooves is 0.5:1to 1.5:1.

[8]

The method according to any one of [1] to [7], wherein when the shortestdistance between the second grooves of one of the cutting rollers andthe blades of the other cutting roller, which face the second grooves,is defined as D₂, D₂ is 3.0 mm or more.

[9]

The method according to any one of [1] to [8], wherein thecross-sectional area of the noodle strands passing through unit spaceseach formed by the annular groove of one of the cutting rollers and theblade of the other cutting roller is 90% or less of the cross-sectionalarea of the unit space.

[10]

The method according to any one of [1] to [9], wherein the noodlestrands are used for noodles selected from the group consisting ofChinese noodles, pasta, udon, and soba.

The method according to any one of [1] to [10], further comprising:

steaming and gelatinizing the cut noodle strands, and

drying the gelatinized noodle strands.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

According to the present invention, adhesion between wide noodle strandscan be reduced or prevented. According to the present invention, widenoodle strands and instant noodles, such as udon and pasta, can beproduced with high quality and high efficiency.

The above descriptions shall not be deemed to disclose all embodimentsof the invention and all advantages relating to the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a partial schematic cross-sectional view along thelongitudinal direction of a cutting roller according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a partial schematic cross-sectional view along thelongitudinal direction of a pair of cutting rollers according to anembodiment.

FIG. 3 is a partial schematic cross-sectional view along thelongitudinal direction of a cutting roller according to anotherembodiment.

FIG. 4 is a partial schematic cross-sectional view along thelongitudinal direction of a pair of cutting rollers according to anotherembodiment.

FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the dimensionalrelationship between annular grooves and blades of cutting rollers and anoodle belt.

FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing how force is appliedwhen a noodle belt is cut into noodle strands.

FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a noodle strand having awavy cross-section.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The present invention will be described in more detail below withreference to the drawings in order to illustrate typical embodiments ofthe present invention, but the present invention is not limited to theseembodiments. Regarding the reference signs of the drawings, elementsassigned similar signs in different drawings indicate similar orcorresponding elements.

As used herein, “noodles” means a food which comprises wheat flour,starch, rice flour, buckwheat flour, bean flour, etc., as the mainingredient, which is processed into a linear shape, and which can beeaten when cooked by boiling, simmering, stir-frying, hot waterimmersion, or heating in a microwave oven with or without waterimmersion. Examples of noodles include udon, kishimen noodles, Chinesenoodles, soba, pasta, etc. Examples of the state of noodles beforecooking include raw noodles, dried noodles, steamed noodles, boilednoodles, frozen noodles, and instant noodles.

As used herein, “instant noodles” means, among noodles, a food which canbe stored for a long period of time by heating and drying raw noodles,steamed noodles, or boiled noodles, and removing the moisture containedin the noodles to approximately 2 to 10% by mass in the case offry-drying, and to approximately 6 to 14.5% by mass in the case ofhot-air drying. “Dried noodles” are noodles which do not include agelatinization step in the production process and which are dried atroom temperature or low temperature for a long period of time. In thepresent disclosure, dried noodles are distinguished from instant noodlesand excluded from instant noodles.

As used herein, “noodle strands” means noodles which are mechanicallycut from a noodle belt by using a cutting apparatus. The cross-sectionalshape of noodle strands produced by the present invention is a shapehaving a wavy contour formed by combining a circle, an oval, a square, arectangular or a part thereof or combining the same such shapes havingdifferent thicknesses, and the corners thereof may be chamfered.

As used herein, “noodle strand bundle” means a group of a plurality ofnoodle strands cut from a single cutting roller having a plurality ofannual grooves. When a cutting apparatus comprising a pair of cuttingrollers is used, noodle strand bundles are output from the respectivecutting rollers. These two noodle strand bundles are usually stacked andprocessed in subsequent processes.

As used herein, “texture similar to that of conventional noodlesstrands” means the hardness of the noodle strands perceived when eatenafter cooking is “uniform” or “substantially uniform” in the widthdirection of the noodle strands. The term “uniform” means that thehardness is substantially identical across the width of the noodlestrands. The term “substantially uniform” means that the hardness isslightly uneven and different in the width direction of the noodlestrands, but the reconstitution of the entirety of the noodle strands issufficient for eating.

Noodle belts can be prepared by conventional methods.

For example, a dough is formed by kneading a main ingredient andauxiliary ingredients, such as water, salt, and brine. A kneader,planetary mixer, etc., can be used in the kneading of the mainingredient and the auxiliary ingredients. The shape of the dough isgenerally irregular, but it may be formed into a cylindrical shape, asquare tubular shape, etc., using an extruder or the like afterkneading. Examples of the main ingredient include wheat flour, starch,rice flour, buckwheat flour, and bean flour.

Thereafter, the dough is processed into a sheet-like shape having athickness suitable for being cut into noodle strands. As a processingmethod, two or three coarse noodle belts, which are intermediates formedby rolling, are stacked by using a compound machine and then furtherrolled between subsequent rollers. Another processing method is toextrude the dough directly into a sheet by using an extruder.

Next, the noodle belt is cut into noodle strands by using a cuttingapparatus.

The cutting apparatus has a pair of cutting rollers. Stainless steel,iron, etc., can be used as the material of the cutting rollers. Each ofthe cutting rollers has a plurality of annular grooves and a pluralityof blades which are alternatingly arranged along the longitudinaldirection of the cutting rollers, and the cutting rollers are arrangedso that the annular grooves of one of the cutting rollers engage withthe blades of the other cutting roller. Each of the annular grooves ofthe cutting rollers has two first grooves near the blades adjacentthereto along the longitudinal direction of the cutting rollers, and asecond groove which is deeper than the two first grooves and which isarranged between the two first grooves.

FIG. 1 shows a partial schematic cross-sectional view along thelongitudinal direction of the cutting rollers of an embodiment. Aplurality of annular grooves 10 and a plurality of blades 20 arealternatingly arranged in a cutting roller 100A along the longitudinaldirection thereof. Each of the annular grooves 10 has two first grooves12 near the blades 20 adjacent thereto along the longitudinal directionof the cutting roller 100A, and a second groove 14 which is deeper thanthe two first grooves 12 therebetween. In FIG. 1, W_(B) is the width ofthe blades 20, W_(G) is the width of the annular grooves 10, W_(G1) isthe width of the first grooves 12, and W_(G2) is the width of the secondgroove 14.

The width W_(B) of the blades 20 and the width W_(G) of the annulargrooves 10 are generally equal, or the width W_(G) of the annulargrooves 10 may be slightly greater than the width W_(B) of the blades 20and may be, for example, 10 μm to 100 μm greater than the width W_(B) ofthe blades 20.

In an embodiment, the width W_(G) of the annular grooves is 2.0 mm to 30mm, preferably 2.3 mm to 15 mm, and more preferably 3.2 mm to 10 mm. Thepresent invention is more effective for wide noodle strands cut out bysuch relatively large-width annular grooves. In the present disclosure,noodles formed by the cutting rollers having annual grooves having awidth of 2.0 mm or more are referred to as wide noodles, and examples ofwide noodles include udon, certain pastas, such as fettucine, specificlocal noodles, such as Sano ramen, Kitakata ramen, and Okinawa soba, aswell as kishimen noodles, flat noodles, etc.

In an embodiment, the width W_(G1) of the first grooves is 0.5 mm to11.3 mm, preferably 0.6 mm to 5.6 mm, and more preferably 0.8 mm to 3.8mm.

In an embodiment, the width W_(G2) of the second grooves is 0.5 mm to 15mm, preferably 0.6 mm to 7.5 mm, and more preferably 0.8 mm to 5.0 mm.

In an embodiment, the ratio of the width W_(G1) of the first grooves tothe width W_(G2) of the second grooves is 0.5:1 to 1.5:1, preferably0.7:1 to 1.3:1, and more preferably 0.9:1 to 1.1:1. By setting the ratioof the width W_(G1) of the first grooves to the width W_(G2) of thesecond grooves to 0.5:1 or greater, the noodle material can effectivelybe pushed into the second grooves. By setting the ratio of the widthW_(G1) of the first grooves to the width W_(G2) of the second grooves to1.5:1 or less, it is possible to prevent the cross-sectional shape ofnoodle strands from becoming T-shaped (convex). Noodle strands having aT-shaped (convex) cross-section are used when there is a desire for atexture having different hardnesses in the noodle strands whenreconstituted, i.e., a texture in which convex parts, which are thickand difficult to be reconstituted, are hard and other parts are soft.However, such noodle strands are not preferable in the presentdisclosure, since they have a texture different from that ofconventional noodle strands.

When a noodle belt passes through a cutting apparatus, in order toeffectively push the noodle material into the second grooves incooperation with the blades, it is desirable that the cross-section ofthe first grooves have a flat portion. In an embodiment, thecross-section of the first grooves is flat in a region of 5% or more,preferably 10% or more, and more preferably 20% or more of the widthW_(G1) of the first grooves.

The cross-sectional shape of the second grooves is not particularlylimited. The cross-section of the second grooves may be semicircular,semi-elliptical, square, rectangular, triangular, or a combination of apart of these shapes, and the corners thereof may be chamfered.

FIG. 2 shows a partial schematic cross-sectional view along thelongitudinal direction of a pair of cutting rollers of an embodiment.Cutting rollers 100A and 100B are arranged so that the annular groovesof the cutting roller 100A engage with the blades of the cutting roller100B and the annular grooves of the cutting roller 100B engage with theblades of the cutting roller 100A.

In FIG. 2, D₁ is the shortest distance between the first grooves 12 ofthe cutting roller 100A and the blades 20 of the cutting roller 100B,and D₂ is the shortest distance between the second grooves 14 of thecutting roller 100A and the blades 20 of the cutting roller 100B. D₁ andD₂ are also the shortest distances between the first grooves 12 and thesecond grooves 14 of the cutting roller 100B and the blades 20 of thecutting roller 100A, respectively.

In an embodiment, D₁ is 0.3 mm to 1.5 mm, preferably 0.4 mm to 1.0 mm,and more preferably 0.5 mm to 0.8 mm.

D₂ varies depending on the ratio of the thickness T of the noodle beltto D₁ of the first grooves and the width W_(G2) of the second grooves.In general, D₂ is determined so that the cross-sectional area of a unitspace formed by the annular groove and the blade in each groove of thecutting roller is larger than the cross-sectional area of the noodlebelt supplied to each groove of the cutting roller. Since the noodlebelt is distorted by the stress generated by compression when the noodlematerial is extruded, even when the cross-sectional area of the noodlebelt supplied to each groove of the cutting roller and thecross-sectional area of the unit space of each groove of the cuttingroller are the same, the noodle belt may not completely fill the unitspace. For example, when the thickness T of the noodle belt is N timesD₁ and the area of the chamfered portions of the first grooves 12adjacent to the second groove 14 is S_(C),D₂≥D₁+[(N−1)×D₁×W_(G)−S_(C)]/W_(G2). When there is no chamfered portion,i.e., when S_(C)=0, the above equation can be rewritten asD₂≥D₁+[(N−1)×D₁×W_(G)]/W_(G2).

When the noodle material comes into contact with the bottom (flatportion) of the second groove, there is a risk that the surface of thenoodle strand may become roughened or it may be difficult to remove thenoodle strand from the annular groove. Thus, it is preferable that D₂have a dimension (depth) having a sufficient margin so that the noodlematerial does not come into contact with the bottom (flat portion) ofthe second groove. For example, D₂ is 3.0 mm or more, 4.0 mm or more,5.0 mm or more, or 8.0 mm or more. Even when D₂ is increased (deepened),the effect of extruding the noodle material into the second groove 14 isnot eliminated. However, in consideration of general cutting rollerdiameter, for example, D₂ is 10 mm or less, 15 mm or less, or 20 mm orless.

The portions of the first grooves 12 adjacent to the second groove 14may be chamfered. As a result, when cutting the noodle belt, the noodlematerial can be pushed more smoothly from the first grooves 12 into thesecond groove 14. Further, it is possible to more effectively preventthe cross-sectional shape of the noodle strands to be cut out from beingT-shaped (convex). FIGS. 3 and 4 respectively show partial schematiccross-sectional views of the cutting roller 100A and a pair of cuttingrollers 100A, 100B of another embodiment, in which the portions of thefirst grooves 12 adjacent to the second groove 14 are chamfered.

The thickness of the noodle belt passing through the cutting apparatusis 2.0 to 2.7 times D₁. FIG. 5 shows a schematic cross-sectional view ofthe dimensional relationship between the annular grooves and the bladesof the cutting rollers and the noodle belt. The thickness T of thenoodle belt 30 is greater than D , and is 2.0 to 2.7 times D . In thecase that the noodle belt, which is thicker than the space between thefirst grooves and the blade, passes through the cutting apparatus, asshown in FIG. 6, when the noodle belt is cut into noodle strands, thenoodle belt is compressed by the opposing first grooves and blade, and apart of the noodle material is pushed out from the first grooves andmoved into the second groove. As a result, the noodle strands are cutwhile deformed, whereby noodle strands 40 having a wavy cross-section asshown in FIG. 7 can be produced. In noodle strands having a wavycross-section, the contact area between the noodle strands can bereduced and adhesion between the noodle strands can effectively besuppressed or prevented. Furthermore, by setting the thickness of thenoodle belt to 2.0 to 2.7 times D₁, noodle strands which areaesthetically pleasing and which do not have an unusual texture wheneaten can be provided without excessive deformation of the cross-sectionof the noodle strands. The noodle strands 40 may have internal stressesgenerated during compression and cutting by the first grooves and theblades. In FIG. 7, the left and right ends of the noodle strand 40 areshown to be deformed along the upper side, and this deformation iscaused by the internal stress generated in the noodle strand due to theshearing force during compression and cutting by the first grooves andthe blade.

The thickness T of the noodle belt is preferably 2.0 to 2.5 times D₁. Asa result, noodle strands having a more uniform texture can be formed.

In an embodiment, the thickness T of the noodle belt is 0.6 mm to 4.0mm, preferably 0.8 mm to 2.5 mm, and more preferably 1.0 mm to 2.0 mm.

It is desirable that the thickness T of the noodle belt be determined sothat the noodle belt does not completely fill the unit spaces eachformed by the annual groove and the blade. FIGS. 2 and 4 showcross-sections S of the unit spaces formed by the annular grooves andthe blades. In an embodiment, the cross-sectional area of the noodlebelt passing through the unit space described above is 90% or less,preferably 85% or less, and more preferably 80% or less, of the area ofthe cross-section S of the unit space described above.

Each of the cutting rollers is connected to a drive device, such as amotor, via a gear, and by passing the noodle belt between the cuttingrollers while rotating the pair of cutting rollers in oppositedirections to each other, the noodle belt is cut into noodle strands bythe blades of one cutting roller and the annular grooves of the othercutting roller.

The noodle strands formed by cutting the noodle belt enter the annualgrooves of the cutting rollers. The noodle strands in the annulargrooves can be scraped from the cutting rollers using a scraper.

In an embodiment, the pair of cutting rollers are arranged aligned inthe horizontal direction, and the noodle strands scraped with thescraper move (fall) in the vertical direction. In another embodiment,the pair of cutting rollers are arranged side by side at an angle ofgreater than 0 degrees and 90 degrees or less from the horizontaldirection, and the noodle strands scraped by the scraper fall whilemoving diagonally downward.

Any known scraper which can be used in the cutting apparatus can be usedas the scraper. The scraper has a plate-shaped part extending along thelongitudinal direction of the cutting rollers, and a plurality ofprotrusions extending on the long side of the plate-shaped part in adirection substantially orthogonal to the long side. Each of theplurality of protrusions engages with a corresponding one of theplurality of annular grooves of the cutting rollers, and the pluralityof protrusions scrape noodle strands in the plurality of annular groovesfrom the cutting roller. The noodle strands scraped from one of thecutting rollers form a noodle strand bundle composed of a group of aplurality of noodle strands aligned along the longitudinal direction ofthat cutting roller, and move in the vertical direction or along thedownward inclined direction.

Thus, two noodle strand bundles are formed from the pair of cuttingrollers. The scraper can also be referred to as a kasuri . In rarecases, the remnants of noodle strands may remain on the cutting rollers.In order to remove the noodle strand remnants from the cutting rollers,the scraper may be provided with a plurality of protrusions in contactwith the blades.

The plate-shaped part of the scraper functions as a support member forholding the plurality of protrusions at predetermined positions, and canalso absorb the stresses applied to the plurality of protrusions. Thescraper can be affixed to a housing with bolts or the like using theplate-shaped portion of the scraper.

The plurality of protrusions of the scraper may extend linearly and mayinclude bent parts or curved parts. The corners of the plurality ofprotrusions may be chamfered.

The scraper can be obtained by forming comb-shaped notches on one sideof one plate to form the plurality of protrusions. The plate may be bentso as to have one or more obtuse angles, and the portion correspondingto the plurality of protrusions, the portion corresponding to theboundary between the plurality of protrusions and the plate-shapedportion, or both may be bent or curved. As the scraper material, brass,phosphor bronze, stainless steel or the like can be used. Brass andphosphor bronze are easy to be processed, and stainless steel hasexcellent durability.

The cutting apparatus may further be provided with a guide whichreceives the cut noodle strands as needed. The guide may also bereferred to as a conduit, guide tube, or “wavebox”. The cutting rollers,scraper, and optional guide may be attached to a frame-shaped housingformed of stainless steel, iron, or the like.

Any known guide which can be used in the cutting apparatus and which hasa function of receiving noodle strands scraped from the cutting rollerby the scraper and thereafter directing the noodle strands onto aconveyor can be used as the guide. The guide may further be providedwith a divider which divides the noodle strand bundle and is arrangedalong the longitudinal direction of the cutting roller. The guide isgenerally arranged, directly below or diagonally below the pair ofcutting rollers and between the pair of cutting rollers and theconveyor, vertically so that the noodle strands move vertically, orinclined so that the noodle strands move diagonally downward.

The guide is generally gutter-shaped, plate-shaped, or tubular and canbe formed using a material, such as stainless steel or plastic. Theupper side of the guide may be open, or a lid which can be opened andclosed and which can adjust the height of the opening may be disposed onthe upper side of the guide. The lid may be attached to the guide,integrally formed with the guide, or attached to a portion separate fromthe guide, such as a housing equipped with the cutting rollers. Theguide and the lid may be made of the same material or may be made ofdifferent materials. For example, when the guide is made of stainlesssteel, the lid may be a sheet made of soft plastic or silicone rubber.

A conveyor can be arranged directly below the cutting rollers or belowthe outlet of the guide. The conveyor is not particularly limited, andmay be a wire mesh conveyor, net conveyor, belt conveyor, or the like.The cut noodle strands are transferred onto the conveyor either directlyor via the guide. The two noodle strand bundles formed by the pair ofcutting rollers are stacked vertically on the conveyor or guide andtransferred to subsequent processes for processing.

The transfer speed of the conveyor arranged directly below the cuttingapparatus is generally less than the rotational speed of the cuttingrollers, i.e., less than the cutting speed of the noodle strands. Thenoodle strands scraped from the cutting rollers by the scraper, whentransferred onto the conveyor, or while moving on the guide, are crimpeddue to resistance caused by the difference between the transfer speed ofthe conveyor and the cutting speed of the noodle strands. The state ofsuch crimped noodle strands may be expressed as “wavy” from the shapethereof. When guiding the noodle strands onto the conveyor via a guidehaving an upper lid, since the noodle strands are crimped in the moreconstrained space defined by the guide and the lid, the degree of crimpsof the noodle strands, i.e., the magnitude of the “waviness” can be mademore uniform. When a guide with an upper lid is not used, it isdesirable to arrange the conveyor directly under the cutting rollers inorder to form crimps in the noodle strands. When the cutting rollers andthe conveyor are spaced apart, the noodle strands may not be crimped.Since the distance between the cutting rollers and the conveyor forforming crimps in the noodle strands depends on the raw materials of thenoodle strands, production conditions, etc., the conveyor should be“directly below” the cutting rollers to the extent that the noodlestrands are crimped. The arrangement of the conveyor and the distancebetween the cutting rollers and the conveyor are not limited whenforming crimps in the noodle strands using a guide having an upper lid.

When steaming the noodle strands, a conveyor which transfers the noodlestrand bundle at a slightly higher speed than the conveyor describedabove may be arranged immediately after the conveyor or in a subsequentprocess. When steaming, if the density of crimps is too high, the noodlestrands may adhere to each other due to gelatinization of the surfacesof the noodle strands. However, even if the noodle strand bundle, inwhich the density of crimping is sparse enough to prevent the adhesionbetween noodle strands, is attempted to be made only by the cuttingspeed of the cutting rollers and the transfer speed of the conveyor, itmay be difficult to create crimps of a suitable shape. Thus, on theconveyor immediately after the cutting apparatus, a noodle strand bundlehaving dense crimping is produced, and thereafter, it can be transferredto a conveyor which transfers the noodle strand bundle at a higher speedbefore steaming, whereby the density of crimps can be reduced to theextent that the noodle strands do not adhere to each other duringsteaming. By the increased conveyor speed, the production efficiency ofsubsequent processes can also be improved. Since the noodle strandsobtained by the present invention have a wavy cross-section, it ispossible to further reduce the adhesion between noodle strands whichoccurs when the conveyor passes through the steamer.

A noodle production apparatus of an embodiment comprises the cuttingapparatus described above. The noodle production apparatus may comprisea main ingredient and auxiliary ingredient supply device, such as ahopper; a mixing device for kneading the main ingredient and auxiliaryingredients, such as a kneader and a planetary mixer; an extruder;rolling rollers and a compound machine for forming a noodle belt from adough; a conveyor which transfers noodle strand bundles; a steamer whichgelatinizes a starch contained in the noodle strands; a cutting machinewhich cuts the noodle strand bundles to the length of one serving; afry-dryer or hot-air dryer; a packaging machine, etc.

In an embodiment, the noodle strands are used in noodles selected fromthe group consisting of Chinese noodles, pasta, udon, and soba.

In an embodiment, the method for producing the noodle strands mayfurther comprise steaming and gelatinizing the cut noodle strands, anddrying the gelatinized noodle strands. Steaming may be carried out byboiling the noodle strands in hot water, or by exposing the noodlestrands to high temperature steam at, for example, 99° C. to 100° C. for1 to 2 minutes. Drying can be carried out by various methods usingfrying, hot air, microwave irradiation, freeze-drying, cold-drying, etc.

In one embodiment, the noodle strands are used in instant noodles.Instant noodles may be fried noodles or hot air-dried noodles.

EXAMPLES

Specific embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated in in thefollowing Examples, but the present invention is not limited thereto.All parts and percentages are in terms of mass unless otherwise stated.

(1) Experiment 1 (Examples 1 to 3 and Comparative Examples 1 to 5)

Differences in the characteristics of noodle strands obtained when theshortest distance D₁ between the shallower grooves of the annulargrooves of the cutting roller, i.e., the first grooves, and the bladeswhich face the same was set to 0.6 mm, and the thickness of a noodlebelt was set to 0.9 mm to 1.9 mm were evaluated. The depth D₂ of thesecond grooves of the annular grooves was 4.4 mm.

Noodle raw materials of 10 kg of wheat flour (ASW), 100 g of salt, 10 gof sodium carbonate, and 3300 mL of water (water content 33%) werekneaded to obtain a dough. The obtained dough was compounded and rolledto obtain noodle belts having the thicknesses shown in Table 1. Thesenoodle belts of differing thicknesses were cut into noodle strands bycutting rollers. The width W_(G) of the annual grooves of the cuttingrollers was 6 mm, i.e. , gauge No. 5, the shortest distance D₁ betweenthe first grooves and the blades was 0.6 mm, the width W_(G1) of each ofthe first grooves was 2 mm, the width W_(G2) of the second grooves was 2mm, and the portions of the first grooves adjacent to the second grooveswere chamfered with a radius of 1.5 mm (a round chamfer tracing an archaving a radius of 1.5 mm).

The evaluation items are as described below.

Noodle Belt Thickness

The thicknesses of the noodle belts prior to passing through the cuttingrollers were measured.

Noodle Strand Thickness

The thickest central part was measured as the thickness of noodlestrands after cutting by using the cutting rollers.

Shape

The cross-sectional shapes of the obtained noodle strands after cuttingby using the cutting rollers were visually observed. A substantiallyflat shape was evaluated as A, a wavy shape was evaluated as B, and ashape having a central portion having a T-shaped (convex) cross-sectionwas evaluated as C.

Unraveling

After steaming the noodle strands for 2 minutes, the presence or absenceof adhesion between noodle strands was evaluated.

Texture

The steamed noodle strands were dried at 98° C. for 40 minutes to obtaininstant noodles (mass: 80 g after drying). The obtained instant noodleswere reconstituted in hot water for 5 minutes, and the texture (hardnessin the width direction) when the noodles were eaten was evaluated.Noodles in which the hardness of the noodle strands was substantiallythe same over the width direction of the noodle strands were evaluatedas “uniform”, noodles in which the hardness was slightly different inthe width direction of the noodle strands, but the reconstitution of theentire noodle strands was sufficient for eating were evaluated as“substantially uniform”, and noodles in which parts having differinghardness could clearly be perceived were evaluated as “non-uniform.”Noodle strands having non-uniform texture had a mixture of portionswhich were sufficiently reconstituted and had moderate softness foreating, and portions which were not sufficiently reconstituted and hadunsuitable hardness for eating.

The evaluation results are shown in Table 1.

TABLE 1 Comp Comp Comp Comp Comp Ex 1 Ex 2 Ex 1 Ex 2 Ex 3 Ex 3 Ex 4 Ex 5Noodle belt 0.9 1.1 1.25 1.4 1.55 1.7 1.75 1.9 thickness T (mm) Noodle0.9 1.1 1.3 1.45 1.7 1.75 1.9 2.1 strands thickness (mm) Distance D₁ 0.60.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 between first grooves and blades (mm) T/D₁1.50 1.83 2.08 2.33 2.58 2.83 2.92 3.17 Shape A A B B B C C C UnravelingAdhered Some N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A Adhesion Texture Uniform UniformUniform Uniform Substantially Non- Non- Non- Uniform Uniform UniformUniform

(2) Experiment 2 (Example 4)

This experiment was carried out under the same conditions as ComparativeExample 2 of

Experiment 1, except that the shortest distance D₁ between the firstgrooves and the blades was 0.5 mm.

TABLE 2 Comp Ex 2 Ex 4 Noodle belt thickness T (mm) 1.1 1.1 Noodlestrands thickness (mm) 1.1 1.2 Distance D₁ between first grooves and 0.60.5 blades (mm) T/D₁ 1.83 2.20 Shape A B Unraveling Some Adhesion N/ATexture Uniform Uniform

From Experiment 2, it can be understood that the effect of the presentinvention is not simply due to the thickness T of the noodle belt, butrather, is due to the ratio T/D₁ between the shortest distance D₁between the first grooves and the blades and the thickness T of thenoodle belt.

From Experiment 1 and Experiment 2, it could be understood that theeffect of the present invention is achieved when the thickness T of thenoodle belt is 2.0 to 2.7 times the shortest distance D₁ between thefirst grooves and the blades, and the noodle belt is passed through apair of cutting rollers having the specific shape of the presentdisclosure.

It will be apparent to a person skilled in the art that the embodimentsand Examples described above can be modified in various ways withoutdeparting from the basic principles of the present invention. It willalso be apparent to a person skilled in the art that variousimprovements and modifications of the present invention can be carriedout without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentinvention.

DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE SIGNS

100A, 100B cutting roller

10 annular groove

12 first groove

14 second groove

20 blade

30 noodle belt

40 noodle strands

W_(B) blade width

W_(G) annular groove width

W_(G1) first groove width

W_(G2) second groove width

D₁ shortest distance between first groove and blade

D₂ shortest distance between second groove and blade

S cross-section of unit space

T noodle belt thickness

1. A method for producing noodle strands having a wavy cross-section,the method comprising: preparing a noodle belt, and cutting the noodlebelt into noodle strands with a cutting apparatus, wherein the cuttingapparatus has a pair of cutting rollers, and each of the cutting rollershas a plurality of annular grooves and a plurality of blades which arealternatingly arranged along the longitudinal direction of the cuttingrollers, the cutting rollers are arranged so that the annular grooves ofone of the cutting rollers engage with the blades of the other cuttingroller, each of the annular grooves of the cutting rollers has two firstgrooves located near the blades adjacent thereto along the longitudinaldirection of the cutting roller, and a second groove which is deeperthan the two first grooves between the two first grooves, and when theshortest distance between the first grooves of one of the cuttingrollers and the blades of the other cutting roller, which face the firstgrooves, is defined as D₁, the thickness of the noodle belt is 2.0 to2.7 times D₁.
 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the thicknessof the noodle belt is 2.0 to 2.5 times D₁.
 3. The method according toclaim 1, wherein the thickness of the noodle belt is 0.6 mm to 4.0 mm.4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the width of the annulargrooves is 2.0 mm to 30 mm.
 5. The method according to claim 1, whereinthe width of the first grooves is 0.5 mm to 11.3 mm.
 6. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the width of the second grooves is 0.5 mmto 15 mm.
 7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the ratio of thewidth of the first grooves to the width of the second grooves is 0.5:1to 1.5:1.
 8. The method according to claim 1, wherein when the shortestdistance between the second grooves of one of the cutting rollers andthe blades of the other cutting roller, which face the second grooves,is defined as D₂, D₂ is 3.0 mm or more.
 9. The method according to claim1, wherein the cross-sectional area of the noodle strands passingthrough unit spaces each formed by the annular groove of one of thecutting rollers and the blade of the other cutting roller is 90% or lessof the cross-sectional area of the unit space.
 10. The method accordingto claim 1, wherein the noodle strands are used for noodles selectedfrom the group consisting of Chinese noodles, pasta, udon, and soba. 11.The method according to claim 1, further comprising: steaming andgelatinizing the cut noodle strands, and drying the gelatinized noodlestrands.